Puppy Source Analysis
Tom Kremer
Last Updated: 2025-08-21
Preprocessing Notes
This page shows the results for the questions of interest split by the source of the puppy. The results have been filtered to only consider the four main sources, which account for 3621 of the 4002 survey responses: breeder, pet store, shelter/rescue, and non-breeder person. All other source options (found/stray, offspring, flea market/swap, other) had too few values to robustly dissect them further (~100 total responses), and showing only these four helps highlight the main results. I’m happy to make versions with all answers for any specific questions.
Colors are used to help compare the same values across source groups where the total number of response options is 5 or lower.
Likert-scale questions (Q25, Q28) are presented one at a time to allow comparison between source groups, instead of in one big figure like in the overall analysis, but using its own color scale for clarity.
Questions with many answers like State show the top 10 values per source group, and ZIP code was not presented at all because the variation would be too large.
A few questions with notable differences or interesting absence of clear differences between source groups (qualitatively speaking, and a non-exhaustive list): Q12-14, Q18 (might have actually expected more of a difference?), Q24, Q25-28, Q35-36 (minor differences between breeder, shelter, and pet store, and shelters being the largest first choice for people buying from breeder/individual), Q94-97 (roughly similar outcomes).
S3
S3: How old was your puppy when first brought home?
3621 non-empty/NA responses out of 3621 possible responses ( 100
%)
S5
S5: What is your age, in years?
3621 non-empty/NA responses out of 3621 possible responses ( 100
%)
Q3
Q3: What is your puppy’s expected size when fully grown?
3621 non-empty/NA responses out of 3621 possible responses ( 100
%)
Q5
What information do you have on your puppy’s breed?
Q4NEW_new
Q4: What best describes your puppy’s breed(s)?
3621 non-empty/NA responses out of 3621 possible responses ( 100
%)
Q12 (…)
Q12: Is your puppy sterilized (spayed or neutered)?
3621 non-empty/NA responses out of 3621 possible responses ( 100
%)
> Q13
Q13: Was your puppy sterilized before you brought them home?
1942 non-empty/NA responses out of 1942 possible responses ( 100
%)
> Q14
Q14: Do you plan to breed your puppy in the future?
1636 non-empty/NA responses out of 1679 possible responses ( 97
%)
Q17
Q17: Before this puppy, were you ever a primary caretaker for a dog as an adult (when you were age 18 or older)?
3621 non-empty/NA responses out of 3621 possible responses ( 100
%)
Group A Only (…)
Group A Only
> Q18
Q18: How much time did you spend searching for a puppy?
1807 non-empty/NA responses out of 1807 possible responses ( 100
%)
> Q24
Q24: How closely did the puppy you got match what you were searching for?
1738 non-empty/NA responses out of 1738 possible responses ( 100
%)
> Q25
Q25r1: I wanted a puppy from a specific source (e.g., shelter, breeder, etc.) - How important were each of the following in choosing your puppy?
1738 non-empty/NA responses out of 1738 possible responses ( 100
%)
> Q25r2
Q25r2: I wanted a puppy that was a specific age - How important were each of the following in choosing your puppy?
1738 non-empty/NA responses out of 1738 possible responses ( 100
%)
> Q25r3
Q25r3: I wanted a puppy that would grow to a certain size (e.g., tiny, small, medium, large) - How important were each of the following in choosing your puppy?
1738 non-empty/NA responses out of 1738 possible responses ( 100
%)
> Q25r4
Q25r4: I wanted a particular breed or breed type - How important were each of the following in choosing your puppy?
1738 non-empty/NA responses out of 1738 possible responses ( 100
%)
> Q25r5
Q25r5: I wanted to have an emotional connection to my puppy - How important were each of the following in choosing your puppy?
1738 non-empty/NA responses out of 1738 possible responses ( 100
%)
> Q25r6
Q25r6: I wanted a puppy from a source that I trust - How important were each of the following in choosing your puppy?
1738 non-empty/NA responses out of 1738 possible responses ( 100
%)
> Q25r7
Q25r7: I wanted a puppy that was hypoallergenic - How important were each of the following in choosing your puppy?
1738 non-empty/NA responses out of 1738 possible responses ( 100
%)
> Q25r8
Q25r8: I wanted a puppy with a particular fur color (e.g., black, white, golden, brown, mixed, etc.) - How important were each of the following in choosing your puppy?
1738 non-empty/NA responses out of 1738 possible responses ( 100
%)
> Q28
Q28r1: Convenience - How important were the following things in deciding where you got your puppy?
1738 non-empty/NA responses out of 1738 possible responses ( 100
%)
> Q28r2
Q28r2: The degree to which the puppy was already socialized - How important were the following things in deciding where you got your puppy?
1738 non-empty/NA responses out of 1738 possible responses ( 100
%)
> Q28r3
Q28r3: Getting a puppy that is homeless or in need of a home - How important were the following things in deciding where you got your puppy?
1738 non-empty/NA responses out of 1738 possible responses ( 100
%)
> Q28r4
Q28r4: Ability to bring puppy home quickly - How important were the following things in deciding where you got your puppy?
1738 non-empty/NA responses out of 1738 possible responses ( 100
%)
> Q28r5
Q28r5: Ability to meet the mother dog - How important were the following things in deciding where you got your puppy?
1738 non-empty/NA responses out of 1738 possible responses ( 100
%)
> Q28r6
Q28r6: Potential to breed the dog - How important were the following things in deciding where you got your puppy?
1738 non-empty/NA responses out of 1738 possible responses ( 100
%)
> Q28r7
Q28r7: Recommendation from trusted source - How important were the following things in deciding where you got your puppy?
1738 non-empty/NA responses out of 1738 possible responses ( 100
%)
> Q28r8
Q28r8: Good communication and support - How important were the following things in deciding where you got your puppy?
1738 non-empty/NA responses out of 1738 possible responses ( 100
%)
Everyone
Q29
Q29: How much did you pay for your puppy?
3621 non-empty/NA responses out of 3621 possible responses ( 100
%)
Q31
Q31: Were you willing to pay more for a puppy than what you actually paid?
3621 non-empty/NA responses out of 3621 possible responses ( 100
%)
Q35 (…)
Q35: Was this your first choice for where to get your puppy?
3621 non-empty/NA responses out of 3621 possible responses ( 100
%)
> Q36
Q36: What was your first choice for where to get your puppy?
613 non-empty/NA responses out of 613 possible responses ( 100
%)
Q37
Q37: How likely are you to recommend the place where you got your puppy to a friend?
3621 non-empty/NA responses out of 3621 possible responses ( 100
%)
Q38
Q38: If you had not been able to get your puppy, what would you have most likely done?
3587 non-empty/NA responses out of 3621 possible responses ( 99
%)
Q90
Q90: When you got your puppy, was there a policy for if you can no longer keep them?
3621 non-empty/NA responses out of 3621 possible responses ( 100
%)
Q92
Q92: Did your puppy come with a health guarantee?
3621 non-empty/NA responses out of 3621 possible responses ( 100
%)
Group B Only (…)
Group B Only
> Q94
Q94: Overall, how satisfied are you with your new puppy?
1814 non-empty/NA responses out of 1814 possible responses ( 100
%)
> Q95
Q95: How would you describe your puppy’s overall health?
1814 non-empty/NA responses out of 1814 possible responses ( 100
%)
> Q97
Q97: How would you describe your puppy’s overall behavior?
1814 non-empty/NA responses out of 1814 possible responses ( 100
%)
> Q99
Have you had challenges or concerns about any of the following?
> Q101
Which of the following are or were causing to you consider rehoming your dog?
Demographic Questions
Q102a
Q102a: Which state do you live in?
3621 non-empty/NA responses out of 3621 possible responses ( 100
%)
Q103
Q103: What is your gender?
3621 non-empty/NA responses out of 3621 possible responses ( 100
%)
Q104
Q104: What is the highest level of school you completed?
3621 non-empty/NA responses out of 3621 possible responses ( 100
%)
Q105
Q105: What is your total annual household income?
3621 non-empty/NA responses out of 3621 possible responses ( 100
%)
Q106
Q106: Are you of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin?
3621 non-empty/NA responses out of 3621 possible responses ( 100
%)
Q107
Q107: How would you describe yourself?
3621 non-empty/NA responses out of 3621 possible responses ( 100
%)
Q108
Q108: Do you own or rent your home?
3621 non-empty/NA responses out of 3621 possible responses ( 100
%)